Hereford homeless pods’ flaws ‘painfully evident’

Flaws in Herefordshire’s high-profile homeless “pods” became “painfully evident” when they were put to use last winter.

A report for the Herefordshire Homelessness Forum, published earlier this year but which has only now come to light, concluded they were “unfit for our purpose” and “raise concerns about value for money”.

Following the deaths of three homeless people in the county, Herefordshire Council commissioned the four pods, each roughly the dimensions of a garden shed, from a glamping pod company for £46,560 last year, then spent a further £11,000 on maintaining them and dealing with waste.

But the chemical toilets in the pods were “too low and too small”, leading to “problems of accuracy”, while emptying them was awkward and expensive.

Nor was there any provision for handwashing – yet “keeping clean is a major issue for homeless people”, the report said.

Condensation was also a recurrent problem, soaking bedding and even waking guests up when it dripped on their faces. To deal with this, vents were then fitted – twice.

Condensation also got into the smoke alarms fitted in each pod, which “went off at various times” leading some being disconnected.

“Smoking in pods will happen, and malfunctioning and disconnected alarms could lead to disaster,” the report said.

The pods’ internal heaters were not effective, while roof-mounted solar panels “frequently did not provide [power for] lighting or phones”.

The pods were designed with women chiefly in mind – yet while the (then) male-only main homeless  shelter in Hereford’s Symonds Street “is warm, pods are cold, wet, dark and isolated” – which “for a few women, was a source of discontentment and disruption”.

However they were a “convenient, secure means of getting someone off the street as an emergency measure”, the report concluded.

With seasonal homeless accommodation having opened again at the start of this month, “the main accommodation that we are using will not be the pods”, the council’s Cabinet member for adults, health and wellbeing Carole Gandy told fellow councillors last week.

“The pods will be used as a last resort. The main accommodation is the winter shelter which this year has been split into a male and female dormitory,” she said.

“We have improved ventilation in the pods but recognise they are not ideal.”